On December 6th Venezuelans are once again heading to the polls, this time around to choose the members of the National Assembly for the 2016-2020 period. Polling suggests that for the first time since 2007, the government is set to lose. However, because of an electoral system with a significant rural-bias, the opposition’s large lead in polls (about 20%) might not translate to a majority of equal size (see an analysis here).
The electoral campaign started officially on Friday the 13th of November. Already before that date the government was working on adapting the system to its advantage. With two weeks to go before the election, the environment is heating up. As has become common in recent elections in Venezuela, electoral violence has started occurring. Two key incidents have … [Read more...]